Reading Challenge Pros and Cons: Who Needs to Take Part in It and Why?

Being smart is cool, and we doubt there are many people who can find reasons to prove this statement wrong. In a modern world a bookworm is not a name kids get called in schools and colleges, but is something close to a compliment when heard from others. There are many positive aspects of being into reading and it is not the time to list them all. In order to get more books into their Goodreads reading list, a lot of people participate in all kinds of reading challenges. Is it a good approach and how should you select Your Perfect Reading Challenge? These and more other questions will be answered below.

Following the Deadline

Most of challenges are time-limited: some are set for a year, some for a month. It is up to you which one to choose. You can even turn the preparation to your literature exam into a reading challenge and get yourself a little treat every time you finish a required piece.

Pros

There is no need to list down all the pros of good time-management, and this is just one of the exercises to improve this skill. What is more important is that following the deadline is a way to keep yourself busy all the time. How much time do you spend in the subway, playing one of the “three in a row” games?

Imagine, how many books you could finish for this time if you had a challenge, and therefore, more motivation to do this. Also, no matter how sad it might be, all of us have these dark periods when everything seems gray and you have gloomy thoughts only. A book can give you a hand, since the deadline does not care about your personal issues and just wants to see the progress.

Cons

Reading in a rush might lead to skipping some thick books, which could bring you much more than their thin sisters you prefer while trying to catch the time’s tail. Besides, it might result into you reading not attentively and missing some valuable points or details you would enjoy otherwise.

Motivation

A reading challenge is a great chance for those who have always wanted to spend more time on reading a book to finally do it. Moreover, you can participate in such a challenge with some of your friends, and the spirit of competition will only add to motivation to dive into reading as soon as you have a few spare minutes.

Pros

Motivation is what makes mornings bright. It is the missing puzzle piece to the picture of you being productive and planning your day to get some time to do what you are motivated to do. Motivation gives us the power to live through every day with a smile, and filling in the achievements list at least twice as quickly as you do usually.

Cons

After being motivated to do one thing, some people completely forget about the other ones. Just make sure your studies and work are okay and your friends did not forget how you look before letting motivation flood your life.

Number of Books Read

A long list of the books one has read is the reason for pride. A lot of characters you can mention for a good comparison, a few suitable situations you can use as an example to prove your point of view in an argument are definitely something worthy to strive to. There are special reading challenges for 100 books to be finished during the year, or ten per month, anything you decide to choose.

Pros

There are books you add to your reading challenge but never get to have the perfect time to start any of them: here is the perfect time to do this! Turn your to-read list into your reading challenge list, so you will be able to do the two things at the same time: get to read the books you wanted to read and improve your self-esteem as a result of completing a reading challenge.

Cons

There is a risk to just read anything to get to the number 100 or any you have set. 100 love stories might drown you in tears and still bring nothing but hopes and dreams. There is nothing bad in romantic novels; there is just no need to select only one genre to read during the challenge. Most likely, it will result into you being bored and stopping reading for a long while.

Descriptive Challenge

It is basically a challenge where you have to write down a brief description of each book you have finished in a form of a diary, a blog or a post.

Pros

For those who do not find it easy to remember the details of the book, it is the best way to have some notes that will always help. Also, in case you have selected to write these descriptions as a blog, it will help the book to find more readers, and good things are to be shared.

Cons

Can you find any negative aspects of having a brief description of the books you have read? Most likely, there are none.

Unexpected Discovery

You can select a challenge that is an A-Z challenge, meaning you will need to select a book with the titles you can put in alphabetical order, a book per letter. It will make you read something you have never even heard about and discover a new favorite author.

Pros

You get to have fun while looking for suitable books. You have a system to follow, and a set order to finish each book, which may be helpful for those who tend to never finish the book after having read a half of it.

Cons

In case the challenge is time-limited, it may lead you to finishing the books you dislike just to have the other letter covered, while it would be better to start on something new instead of spending time on the book that gives you negative emotions.